A nozzle includes a fuel plenum and an air plenum downstream of the fuel plenum. A primary fuel channel includes an inlet in fluid communication with the fuel plenum and a primary air port in fluid communication with the air plenum. Secondary fuel channels radially outward of the primary fuel channel include a secondary fuel port in fluid communication with the fuel plenum. A shroud circumferentially surrounds the secondary fuel channels. A method for mixing fuel and air in a nozzle prior to combustion includes flowing fuel to a fuel plenum and flowing air to an air plenum downstream of the fuel plenum. The method further includes injecting fuel from the fuel plenum through a primary fuel passage, injecting fuel from the fuel plenum through secondary fuel passages, and injecting air from the air plenum through the primary fuel passage.
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1. A fuel nozzle, comprising:
a top divider plate extending radially across a diameter of an annular shroud;
a middle divider plate axially spaced from the top divider plate and circumscribed within the shroud, wherein the top divider plate, the middle divider plate and the outer shroud at least partially define a fuel plenum;
a bottom divider plate axially spaced from the middle divider plate, wherein the bottom divider plate, the middle divider plate and the shroud at least partially define an air plenum;
a plurality of primary fuel channels which extend axially through the air plenum from the middle divider plate at least partially through the bottom divider plate, each primary fuel channel having an inlet in fluid communication with the fuel plenum; and
a plurality of secondary fuel channels arranged in an annular array around the plurality of primary fuel channels, wherein the secondary fuel channels comprises a plurality of tubes which extend through the top divider plate, the fuel plenum and the bottom divider plate.
2. The fuel nozzle as in
3. The fuel nozzle as in
4. The fuel nozzle as in
5. The fuel nozzle as in
6. The fuel nozzle as in
7. The fuel nozzle as in
8. The fuel nozzle as in
9. The fuel nozzle as in
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This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-FC26-05NT42643, awarded by the Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
The present invention generally involves an apparatus and method for supplying fuel to a gas turbine. Specifically, the present invention describes a nozzle that may be used to supply fuel to a combustor in a gas turbine.
Gas turbines are widely used in industrial and power generation operations. A typical gas turbine includes an axial compressor at the front, one or more combustors around the middle, and a turbine at the rear. Ambient air enters the compressor, and rotating blades and stationary vanes in the compressor progressively impart kinetic energy to the working fluid (air) to produce a compressed working fluid at a highly energized state. The compressed working fluid exits the compressor and flows through nozzles in the combustors where it mixes with fuel and ignites to generate combustion gases having a high temperature, pressure, and velocity. The combustion gases expand in the turbine to produce work. For example, expansion of the combustion gases in the turbine may rotate a shaft connected to a generator to produce electricity.
It is widely known that the thermodynamic efficiency of a gas turbine increases as the operating temperature, namely the combustion gas temperature, increases. However, if the fuel and air are not evenly mixed prior to combustion, localized hot spots may exist in the combustor near the nozzle exits. The localized hot spots increase the chance for flame flash back and flame holding to occur which may damage the nozzles. Although flame flash back and flame holding may occur with any fuel, they occur more readily with high reactive fuels, such as hydrogen, that have a higher reactivity and wider flammability range. The localized hot spots may also increase the generation of oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbons, all of which are undesirable exhaust emissions.
A variety of techniques exist to allow higher operating temperatures while minimizing localized hot spots and undesirable emissions. For example, various nozzles have been developed to more uniformly mix higher reactivity fuel with the working fluid prior to combustion. Oftentimes, however, the higher reactivity fuel nozzles include multiple mixing tubes that result in a larger differential pressure across the nozzles. In addition, the higher reactivity fuel nozzles often do not include mixing tubes in the center portion of the nozzles. The absence of tubes from the center portion increase the need for higher differential pressure to meet the required mass flow rate. As a result, continued improvements in nozzle designs that can support increasingly higher combustion temperatures and higher reactive fuels would be useful.
Aspects and advantages of the invention are set forth below in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
One embodiment of the present invention is a nozzle that includes a fuel plenum and an air plenum downstream of the fuel plenum. At least one primary fuel channel includes an inlet in fluid communication with the fuel plenum and a primary air port in fluid communication with the air plenum. A plurality of secondary fuel channels radially outward of the at least one primary fuel channel includes a secondary fuel port in fluid communication with the fuel plenum. A shroud circumferentially surrounds the plurality of secondary fuel channels.
Another embodiment is a nozzle that includes a shroud circumferentially surrounding the nozzle and a plurality of barriers inside the shroud that extend radially across the nozzle and define a fuel plenum and an air plenum. The air plenum is downstream of the fuel plenum. At least one primary fuel channel includes an inlet in fluid communication with the fuel plenum and a primary air port in fluid communication with the air plenum. A plurality of secondary fuel channels radially outward of the at least one primary fuel channel include a secondary fuel port in fluid communication with the fuel plenum.
The present invention also includes a method for mixing fuel and air in a nozzle prior to combustion. The method includes flowing fuel to a fuel plenum and flowing air to an air plenum downstream of the fuel plenum. The method further includes injecting fuel from the fuel plenum through at least one primary fuel passage, wherein the at least one primary fuel passage is aligned with an axial centerline of the nozzle. The method also includes injecting fuel from the fuel plenum through secondary fuel passages, wherein the secondary fuel passages are aligned radially outward of the primary fuel passages and injecting air from the air plenum through the at least one primary fuel passage.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will better appreciate the features and aspects of such embodiments, and others, upon review of the specification.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof to one skilled in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to present embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description uses numerical and letter designations to refer to features in the drawings. Like or similar designations in the drawings and description have been used to refer to like or similar parts of the invention.
Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Embodiments of the present invention include a nozzle having multiple fuel channels that mix fuel and air prior to combustion. In general, the fuel flows into a fuel plenum in the nozzle. The air, generally comprising a compressed working fluid from a compressor, flows into a separate air plenum downstream of the fuel plenum. Fuel from the fuel plenum then flows or is injected into one or more primary fuel channels aligned with an axial centerline of the nozzle and a plurality of secondary fuel channels arranged radially outward of the primary fuel channels. Air from the air plenum flows or is injected into the primary fuel channels to mix with the fuel therein before exiting the nozzle. Air flowing outside of the nozzle and outside of the air plenum flows into the secondary fuel channels to mix with the fuel therein before exiting the nozzle. In this manner, the primary and secondary fuel channels provide more evenly mixed fuel and air radially across the entire downstream face of the nozzle.
As shown in
The primary fuel channels 32 generally comprise a tube or passage 52, an inlet 54, and a primary air port 56. The tube or passage 52 may be round, oval, square, triangular, or any known geometric shape. The inlet 54 is in fluid communication with the fuel plenum 44 and may simply comprise an opening in the upstream end of the tube or passage 52. Alternately, the inlet 54 may comprise an aperture through the middle barrier 38. For example, as shown in
The primary or inner fuel channels 32 are generally axially aligned or coincident with a centerline 50 of the nozzle 12 and may comprise a single fuel channel or multiple fuel channels, as shown in
The secondary fuel channels 34 are generally radially outward of the primary fuel channels 32 and surround the primary fuel channels 32. The secondary fuel channels comprise tubes or passages 52, as previously described, that may extend parallel to one another through one or more barriers 36, 38, 40 along the axial length of the nozzle 12. In addition, the secondary fuel channels 34 generally include an inlet 58, an outlet 60, and a secondary fuel port 62. The inlet 58 and outlet 60 may simply comprise openings at the upstream and downstream ends of the secondary fuel channels 34 that permit the free flow of air through the secondary fuel channels 34. The secondary fuel port 62 is in fluid communication with the fuel plenum 44 so that fuel may flow or be injected from the fuel plenum 44 into the secondary fuel channels 34. Depending on the design needs, some or all of the secondary fuel channels 34 may include one or more secondary fuel ports 62. The secondary fuel port 62 may be angled with respect to the axial centerline 50 of the nozzle 12 to vary the angle at which the fuel enters the secondary fuel channels 34, thus varying the distance that the fuel penetrates into the secondary fuel channels 34 before mixing with the air. The fuel and air thus mix in the secondary fuel channels 34 before exiting the nozzle 12 into the combustion chamber 22.
The various embodiments of the present invention may provide several advantages over existing nozzles. For example, the use of primary and secondary fuel channels 32, 34 allows for more flow of fuel and air through the nozzle 12, thus reducing the pressure drop it takes for the air to flow through the nozzle 12. In addition, the primary and secondary fuel channels 32, 34 provide mixed fuel and air across the entire downstream surface of the nozzle 12 to the combustion chamber 22. This provides a more uniform flow of fuel and air into the combustion chamber 22, thereby reducing any recirculation zones at the exit of the nozzle 12. Furthermore, the flow of fuel and air over a greater portion of the nozzle 12 provides additional cooling to the downstream face of the nozzle 12, thereby reducing the need for parasitic cooling flow to the face of the nozzle 12. Lastly, the nozzles 12 within the scope of the present invention may be installed in existing combustors, allowing for less expensive modifications of existing nozzles.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other and examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
Ziminsky, Willy Steve, Johnson, Thomas Edward, Berry, Jonathan Dwight
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Sep 07 2010 | JOHNSON, THOMAS EDWARD | General Electric Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024954 | /0409 | |
Sep 07 2010 | ZIMINSKY, WILLY STEVE | General Electric Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024954 | /0409 | |
Sep 07 2010 | BERRY, JONATHAN DWIGHT | General Electric Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024954 | /0409 | |
Sep 08 2010 | General Electric Company | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
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Nov 10 2023 | General Electric Company | GE INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 065727 | /0001 |
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